9 Days Kathmandu to Lhasa Adventure Tour with Overnight Stay at EBC

You will get hotel pick-up during 9:00-9:30 am and head for Gyirong Border. When getting closer to Mt. Himalaya, you can admire the deep gorges, snow-capped mountains along the way. You will also cross the Luang Tang National Park.

Stay overnight in Syabrubesi.

After breakfast, take a car ride to Gyirong Border 15km away. After passing the border, you will meet our Tibetan tour guide waiting for you in China side. It takes about 1 hour to drive from Gyirong Border to Gyirong Town (2800m) where is surrounded by lofty snow-capped mountains and dense forests.

In the afternoon, you can visit Paba Temple (2850m) which is within minutes’ walk away from your guesthouse. This Nepali style temple of Gelugpa Sect was built by Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo at the proposal of his wife Nepali Princess Bhrikuti.

Stay overnight in Gyirong Town.

Today, you will visit Everest Base Camp (EBC). On the way, you will first pass by Peikutso Lake, a beautiful alpine lake with a water area over 300 square kilometers and have a far view of the world's fourteenth highest mountain, Mt. Shishapangma. Keeping heading for EBC, you will pass over the famous Gawula Pass (5,198m) and get a great view of the four highest peaks in the world there - Mt. Lhotse (8,516m), Mt. Everest (8,848m), Mt. Cho Oyu (8,201m), and Mt Makalu (8,463m). Keep marching along the new zigzag road to Everest Base Camp, you can get closer view of Mt. Everest peak. You can also enjoy the sunset of golden Everest peak at the lodging area if time and weather permits .

Stay overnight in Rongphu Monastery Guesthouse or tent guesthouse.

You can watch the sunrise over the top of Mt. Everest if weather permits. After having a full view of the magnificent Mt. Everest, you will visit Rongbuk Monastery, the highest monastery in the world as well as the unique Nyingma Sect monastery where nuns and monks live together. After noon, you will take car ride to to Sakya.

Stay overnight in Sakya.

Today, you will visit the famous Sakya Monastery. Founded in 1073, Sakya Monastery is the principal monastery of the Sakya Sect of Tibetan Buddhism and has an invaluable collection of sacred Buddhist scripts. It consists of two parts, northern and southern monastery. The Northern Monastery has become ruins while the Southern one was built like a fortress, surrounded by a moat. Then, continue your trip to Shigatse.

Stay overnight in Shigatse.

The following morning, you will get to visit the famed Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, with its ancient statue of Jampa, the “future god”. Tashi Lhunpo is also the seat of the Panchen Lama, the second highest spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism. You can also see the monastery’s Barley Mill, and the fields of barley around the site, and see how the barley is ground into flour to make the staple food of Tibetans, tsampa.

Afterwards, you will drive the short distance to Gyantse and visit the famed Pelkor Monastery and Kumbum Stupa. The monastery is the main monastery for Buddhists in Gyantse, and houses thousands of Buddhist sutras, scripts, and artifacts, as well as many paintings, which have left a deep influence on Tibetan art.

The rest of the day is spent driving back to Lhasa along the famous Sino-Nepal Friendship Highway. The road to Lhasa is 280 km long and it takes around six hours to drive. The road follows the course of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which is the longest and largest river in Tibet. As you pass the Manak Dam Lake, you will have chance to get out and hang prayer flags on the Simila Mountain Pass, before moving on to pass the beautiful Karola Glacier, with its pristine white ice face.

The last part of the long drive takes you past the beautiful, turquoise waters of Lake Yamdrok, one of the three holy lakes in Tibetan Buddhism, and the spectacular Nyenchen Khangsar Mountain, the highest mountain near Lhasa.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

The following day your first stop will be the world famous Potala Palace, the winter palace of the Dalai Lama. Sitting atop Moburi (Red Hill), the palace looks down on the town of Lhasa from its 3,750-meter vantage point. The temple dates back to the 7th century, and houses artifacts and works of art from throughout Tibetan History. The palace also has the gilded burial stupas of the past Dalai Lamas, and below ground lies the ancient meditation cave of the 33rd King of Tibet.

After some lunch, you will head downtown to Jokhang Temple, the primary seat of the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It was built by the 33rd King of Tibet in 647AD, and is the spiritual center of Tibet and the holiest temple in Tibetan Buddhism. Inside sits the most precious object in the temple, a life-sized statue of Buddha Sakyamuni when he was just 12 years old. Adorned with many precious gems, this gilded statue is the most sacred object in Tibet.

Running around the temple is the famed Barkhor Street. As well as the route of the holy kora, or religious circumambulation, it is also the site of many sellers where you can buy authentic souvenirs from across the region. You can join the pilgrims on their clockwise walk around the temple.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

The next morning you will leave early for a trip outside Lhasa, first to Drepung Monastery, one of the Great Three monasteries of the Gelugpa sect. Sitting at the foot of Gambo Utse, 5 kilometers outside Lhasa, it was founded by Jamyang Choge, one of the disciples of Tsong Khapa, in 1416. The Ganden Potrang, sited in the southwest corner of the monastery, was the former residence of the Dalai Lama, until the move to the Potala Palace.

In the afternoon you will travel back across the city to the northern suburbs, to visit Sera Monastery, another of the Great Three monasteries. Founded in 1419, the name, Sera, means "wild rose" in Tibetan, and was named because of the roses that were in bloom on the hill behind it when it was built. The main attraction of the monastery is the colorful and animated debating of the monks, held under the trees in the debating field every afternoon. Definitely something to watch, even if you do not understand what is said.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

On the last day of your tour, our guide will take you to the airport or train station, and help you with checking in and boarding.